Deuteronomy 8

Do Not Forget the Lord

8Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live^t and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors.^{u 2}Remember how the Lord your God led^v you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test^w you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. ³He humbled^x you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna,^y which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach^z you that man does not live on bread^a alone but on every word that comes from the mouth^b of the Lord.^{c 4}Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years.^{d 5}Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you.^e

⁶Observe the commands of the Lord your God, walking in obedience to him^f and revering him.^{g 7}For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land^h—a land with brooks, streams, and deep springs gushing out into the valleys and hills;^{i 8}a land with wheat and barley,^j vines^k and fig trees,^l pomegranates, olive oil and honey;^{m 9}a land where breadⁿ will not be scarce and you will lack nothing;^o a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.^p

¹⁰When you have eaten and are satisfied,^q praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. ¹¹Be careful that you do not forget^r the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. ¹²Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down,^{s 13}and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, ¹⁴then your heart will become proud and you will forget^t the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ¹⁵He led you through the vast and dreadful wilderness,^u that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes^v and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock.^{w 16}He gave you manna^x to eat in the wilderness, something your ancestors had never known,^y to humble and test^z you so that in the end it might go well with you. ¹⁷You may say to yourself,^a “My power and the strength of my hands^b have produced this wealth for me.” ¹⁸But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth,^c and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.

¹⁹If you ever forget the Lord your God and follow other gods^d and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.^{e 20}Like the nations^f the Lord destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the Lord your God.^g